Playing live to an audience is one of the most exhilarating parts of being a musician. However, getting gigs when you’re just starting out can seem like a bit of a dark art.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of 10 things you can do to help you and your band land your first gig. Unfortunately, none of these tips are secret hacks. Getting booked for live gigs takes a lot of hard work and dedication. So, if you’re willing to put the hours in and work towards getting booked for your first gig, let’s get started.
It might seem obvious but too often artists approach bookers before they’re gig-ready. It’s imperative that whether you’re making music as part of a band or as a solo artist, performing covers or your own material, that you hone your craft before even thinking about getting on stage.
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Remember, you only get one chance to make a good first impression, and the only way to do that is through practice.
PIRATE.COM offers affordable, 24hr rehearsal studios across the UK, US and Germany where you can write songs, practice and record. Plus, once you’ve gotten started, you can refer a friend or bandmate to get money off your next practice session.
Once you’re sounding great in the studio it’s time to make a demo. It’s worth noting that the music industry has moved beyond demo tapes and CDs. Some artists still prefer plugging their new music this way, but if you’re trying to get someone to listen to you for the first time, they’re much more likely to click a link than they are to get their CD or tape player out of the attic.
How To Get Gigs For Your Band Or Yourself
It’s in your best interest to make it as easy as possible for people to listen to your demo. Upload it to SoundCloud and it will even be listenable on the go.
When it comes to sending your demo to industry figures, other artists or even friends, it’s important to remember that they’re helping you out by listening to it. Try not to chase anyone for feedback too aggressively, and take constructive criticism graciously, this is how you will improve.
Before you’ve even played your first gig, it’s a good idea to set up social media accounts for your band. The same goes for if you’re a solo artist. This will help distinguish you from your artist persona.
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Even if you’re not into social media, it’s worth putting in the effort. Once you set up pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and SoundCloud, you’re immediately in a much better position to start interacting with other artists, promoters, labels and venues.
If you or someone you know has some photography or design experience, you might consider getting some press pictures taken or a logo designed. This is not only useful for populating your social media accounts, high quality photos and design work will help sell your artist brand to promoters and venues further down the line.
Making a music video is a great way to drum up some attention for your band online. More importantly, it’s a great way for promoters to get a sense of your performance style. After all, a gig is a visual experience as well as a sonic one.
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If you don’t ask, you don’t get - that’s where networking comes in. A huge part of being an artist is getting to know and building up a network of other artists and industry professionals.
You might want to check out what music networking events are on in your city. Alternatively, you can build your creative network organically. Reach out to artists you admire and ask for feedback on your demos. You can also speak to people when you’re in the studio or out at live music events - you never know who you’ll meet.
When networking, it’s best to target artists and figures who operate in a similar sonic sphere to you as they’ll be able to give you more relevant advice. Similarly, don’t go after unreachable figures - Beyonce probably won’t reply to your Instagram DM but the band who you saw perform in your local pub last week probably will.
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A great way to start gigging is to get a support act slot. Go to gigs and message the acts that you love on social media, because sometimes landing a support gig is as simple as asking for it.
Last year, Caroline Kingsbury reached out to The War On Drugs via Instagram, checking if they were looking for support acts for their upcoming tour. Once the War On Drugs had listened to Caroline Kingsbury on Spotify, they invited her to support them on a show. If that anecdote doesn’t convince you to start asking for support slots, I don’t know what will.
One way to guarantee your band’s place on a billing is to become a promoter. The best new live music events have a clear identity and niche, once you’ve decided on that, you’re ready to start programming the rest of your lineup and pitching to venues.
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It’s worth noting that venues will often charge a hire fee which you'll have to earn back through ticket sales. If that financial risk sounds daunting, you might consider teaming up with another band to split the costs, work and rewards.
Do some research and get to know your local independent radio stations and hosts. Again, don’t attempt to get your first ever track played on Radio 1 as it’s unlikely to work, but if you get to know local broadcasters and send them your music they might just give you a shot.
If you keep your ear to the ground, you’ll find competitions running all year round, accepting applications for music festivals and gig slots. For example, PIRATE.COM releases new artist opportunities monthly.
How To Get Gigs
All of these competitions will generally ask for links to your music and your social media profiles which is another reason to keep those updated.
Lastly, the most important thing you need to do to reach any musical goal is to be resilient and keep going - getting gigs is no different.
While reaching out to promoters and venues, it’s very likely that you’re going to face rejections and even worse, be ignored. And no matter how many competitions you enter, you’re going to lose way more times than you win, no matter how good you are.
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The artists that get gigs are the ones that keep working towards their goals, even when they hit a wall. If you want to get your first gig, be one of those artists and don’t let anything put you off trying.
Once you start gigging, you’ll develop a reputation as a performing artist and booking gigs will become easier and easier, until someone is doing it for you! Put in the hard work now, following the steps above and it will pay off.
Are you an experienced live performer? Do you have any other tips you'd tell an aspiring new musician who's trying to get their first gig? Tell us down below!Studio recordings are one of the most desirable (and hard to come by) gigs for the working guitar player. A studio player is expected to be able to handle just about anything. Depending on the context, studio players can usually read music, and are versed in every popular style. If you’re hired to play in a studio situation, time is money. The goal is to produce a record as fast as possible without the luxury of a lot of takes. And everyone is being paid by the hour. That means studio musicians should be some of the fastest-thinking and most versatile hired guns there are.
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Studio work is highly competitive and very unforgiving. It can make or break a musician. Sometimes the sessions are easy, and sometimes you get hired because a producer knows you own a gut string guitar and can hammer out some bossa nova interpretations of techno-pop songs. — Word Strickland, Guitar Player, Nashville, TN
On the face of it, working on a cruise ship sounds rather appealing. Travel the world on a boat, and get paid to play music all day. Bear in mind that cruise ship musicians are not paid a very high salary, and they are expected to operate a pretty demanding performance schedule. This is especially true of guitar players, who are often expected to pick up extra work as a solo guitar entertainer.
To work on a cruise ship, strong sight-reading, repertoire memorization, and general entertainment skills are a must. Auditions are held regularly in major cities by the major cruise lines.
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Due to the difficulty of life on the sea, cruise ships have high turnover, so if your chops are together you should have a good shot at finding an opportunity.
There are a number of opportunities for solo guitar players, mostly weddings and corporate functions, with the odd birthday or bar mitzvah thrown in. To succeed in this space, you’ll need to have solid marketing skills to get yourself booked, either by reputation and word of mouth, or some other means. You’ll also want at least enough memorized solo guitar repertoire to last for about two hours,
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